Time To Wake Up – Mr Prime Minister Your Efforts Are Needed

The Pakistani Christians minority faces all kinds of marginalization at various levels. It is a sweet jail for those living in Pakistan and for those who have fled the country looking for safety and recognition other problems remain.

The international media is maligning the Pakistani government on its weak efforts to curb the violence and religious extremism that is faced by Christians in Pakistan. All though representation is done from various platforms and there are people who are standing up against this discrimination nothing can be done until the government recognizes the fact that persecution is face by its Christian nationals.

The wounds of church attacks in Youhanabad still remain open as the loss was not only restricted to death but arrests that doomed hundreds into jails and under physical remand. The recent blasphemy accusation on Humayun Masih was a pill hard to swallow. People fled homes and did not return for days fearing their colony might be burned down.

Although there have been arrests in the Sandha incident and in the Shahzad and Shama case,the police and accused do not take charges seriously as there is no precedent. The killers of Shahbaz Bhatti, Mumtaz Qadri, Imam Jadoon and Muhammad Saleem live freely even after accepting their acts. On the other hand just for drinking a glass of water, Asia Bibi has spent 5 years in jail.

Mr. Prime Minister should follow the footsteps of the Sindh government which recently made it mandatory to conduct a mental health assessment of those accused of blasphemy and to make Quaid-e-Azam’s August 11th 1947 speech a mandatory part of the curriculum.